Introduction

Bangladesh is one of the largest Muslim countries in the world. The people of this country are deeply committed to Islamic way of life as enshrined in the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah. Naturally, it remains a deep cry in their hearts to fashion and design their economic lives in accordance with the precepts of Islam. The establishment of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited on March 13, 1983, is the true reflection of this inner urge of its people, which started functioning with effect from March 30, 1983. This Bank is the first of its kind in Southeast Asia. It is committed to conduct all banking and investment activities on the basis of interest-free profit-loss sharing system. In doing so, it has unveiled a new horizon and ushered in a new silver lining of hope towards materializing a long cherished dream of the people of Bangladesh for doing their banking transactions in line with what is prescribed by Islam. With the active co-operation and participation of Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and some other Islamic banks, financial institutions, government bodies and eminent personalities of the Middle East and the Gulf countries, Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited has by now earned the unique position of a leading private commercial bank in Bangladesh.

Aims and Objectives

To conduct interest-free banking.

To establish participatory banking instead of banking on debtor-creditor relationship.

To invest on profit and risk sharing basis.

To accept deposits on Mudaraba & Al-Wadeah basis.

To establish a welfare-oriented banking system.

To extend co-operation to the poor, the helpless and the low-income group for their economic upliftment.

To play a vital role in human development and employment generation.

To contribute towards balanced growth and development of the country through investment operations particularly in the less developed areas.

To contribute in achieving the ultimate goal of Islamic economic system.

Functions

The functions of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited are as under:

To maintain all types of deposit accounts.

To make investment.

To conduct foreign exchange business.

To extend other banking services.

To conduct social welfare activities through Islami Bank Foundation.

Achievements

National and international ratings of IBBLIBBL's past performances have been evaluated by Bangladesh Bank, several credit rating agencies home & abroad and by the local press.

International PressIn the midst of a difficult Banking system known to be plagued by high non-performing loans (NPLs), one could easily conclude that it would be difficult to find a bank that is different from norm. However, IBBL provides a refreshing change and is, thus, a pleasant surprise. Although it does not command the market share as the 4 public sector banks, IBBL, which claims to have little interference in lending from the government, has nonetheless, managed to find a niche market of its own-says the BANK ATCH a New York based international Credit Rating Agency in its January 30, 1998 issue. As a market leader offering banking services based on the Islamic rule of Shariah, IBBL's profitability trend has been quite impressive. The Bank's ability to keep its return on asset (ROA) well above the industry's average, reflected its resilience to possible shocks in the banking system. Concerns over massive NPLs and under provisioning are common amongst local banks. But this seems well resolved in IBBL. IBBL's good performance and solid capital base have indeed provided refreshing change found within a banking system saddled and held back by huge NPLs the above agency continued to comment in the same issue.

National Press It is one of a few local banks according to CAMEL (Capital, Assets, Management, Earnings & Liquidity) rating made by the Bangladesh Bank. It holds the highest amount of liquidity among all banks and its ability to keep return on assets at 1.07 percent is well above the banking sector's average of 0.33 percent- The Financial Express, Dhaka commented in its issue of May 28,1998.The Holiday in its 29th August, 1997 issue carried out a report under the heading Setting a precedence of sound banking and commented While the country's banking system is burdened with bad debt portfolios and also suffers from a liquidity shortage, the Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd. (IBBL) has created a unique precedence by improving its reserve and deposit positions substantially, making handsome profits, and offering attractive dividends to its share holders and depositors.

IBBL's World ratingAs per Bankers' Almanac (January 2001 edition) published by the Reed Business Information, Windsor Court, England, IBBL's world Rank is 1771 among 3000 banks selected by them. This position was 1902 among 4500 selected banks as on January 1999 edition.IBBL's country Rank is 5 among 39 banks as per ratings made by the above Almanac on the basis of IBBL's Financial Statements of the year 2001.

Award and Prizes: International & National PerspectiveIBBL was awarded for several times by international & national organisations. The Global Finance, a reputed London based quarterly magazine, awarded IBBL as the best bank of the country for the year 1999 and 2000.IBBL has got the 2nd prize of National Export Fare for its pavilion of Service Organisation in 1985.

Membership of Different Organization / ChamberLocal:1. Bangladesh Institution of Bank Management (BIBM)

2. The Institution of Bankers Bangladesh (IBB)

3. Bangladesh Association of Banks (BAB)

4. Bangladesh Foreign Exchange Dealers' Association (BAFEDA)

5. Central Shariah Board for Islamic Banks of Bangladesh

6. International Chamber of Commerce- Bangladesh

Foreign:1. International Association of Islamic Banks (IAIB), Jeddah, K.S.A.

2. Accounting and Auditing Organizations for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI), Manama, Bahrain.

3. General Council of Islamic Banks & Financial Institutions (GCIBFI), Manama, Bahrain (IBBL is a member of its Executive Council)

4. Society for Worldwide Inter-bank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT)

Mission:To establish Islamic banking through the intriducton of welfare oriented banking system and also ensure equity and justice in the field of all economic activities , achieve balanced growth and equitable development through diversified investment ooperations particularly in the priority sectors and less developed areas of the country.

To encourage socio-economic uplft and financial services to the low-income community particularly in the rural areas.

Vision: